Krispy Kreme Acquires Digital Java, Inc
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Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation (ticker: KREM, exchange: NASDAQ) News Release - 21-Feb-2001
Krispy Kreme Acquires Digital Java, Inc
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ --
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (Nasdaq: KREM) announced today the acquisition of Digital Java, Inc., a small
Chicago-based coffee company. As a sourcer and micro-roaster of premium quality coffees, Digital Java offered
a broad line of coffee-based and non-coffee beverages, both hot and cold. The company also distributed a wide
range of manual and automated espresso and coffee equipment and assisted independent retailers to improve their
beverage offerings, retail presentation and customer experience.
Scott Livengood, Krispy Kreme CEO, said, "We were very excited to find this unique young company. We
believe the Krispy Kreme brand naturally extends to a coffee and beverage offering that is more closely aligned
with the hot doughnut experience in our stores. Culminating nearly two years of thought and research, the
acquisition achieves a number of strategic goals for us including providing an improved coffee experience to our
customers, broadening our beverage offering and increasing our vertical integration. Vertical integration of our
coffee business provides the capability to control the sourcing and roasting of our coffee. Increasing control of
our supply chain will help ensure quality standards, recipe formulation and roast consistency. With this
capability, one of our first priorities will be the research and benchmarking necessary to develop premier blends
and roasts of coffee which will help make Krispy Kreme a coffee destination for a broader audience."
Livengood continued, "Beyond coffee, we intend to offer a full line of beverages including espresso-based drinks
and frozen beverages. We believe we can substantially increase the proportion of our business devoted to coffee
specifically and beverages generally by upgrading and broadening our beverage offering. Digital Java offered the
unusual opportunity to acquire passionate and knowledgeable coffee expertise without the distraction and cost of
an additional established brand."
The 63-year-old North Carolina-based company is a leading branded specialty retailer of premium quality
doughnuts, including the company's signature Hot Original Glazed. Krispy Kreme currently operates 177 stores in
28 states.
Krispy Kreme can be found on the World Wide Web at krispykreme.com . |
